The Wall of Dreams

Public housing area Gadekærvej in Valby, Copenhagen is undergoing a major renovation, which amongst others includes the construction of a 600 m2 LED lit poem embedded in the house-ending wall. The art piece has been developed in a partnership between the area residents, poet Morten Søndergaard and Ramboll Lighting. The art piece has been named ‘The Wall of Dreams’ and was inaugurated in May, 2015.

The relatively boring concrete wall has been transformed into a poem which consists of 117 individual dreams. The dreams have been carved into aluminium and are at night time lit by an LED lighting design developed by Ramboll Lighting.

“I dream about moving to Mars”, “I dream of a poodle”, “I dream about the woman on the second floor”, “I dream about becoming a police officer”.

These are some of the 117 dreams, collected by creator and poet Morten Søndergaard throughout a workshop with the area residents, which ranged from young to old.

A feeling of safety

The wall of dreams comes into its own when night falls and the lighting design gets lit. From being a decorated façade in the day time the wall really turn into an art piece at night time.

- The wall elevates into a whole new level when the lights are being turned on at night, concludes poet Morten Søndergaard.

Morten Søndergaard also explains how the lighting design creates a feeling of safety for the area residents in the late hours. A felling that is being highly welcomed by Gadekærvej chairman and resident, Villy Brejning.

- The lighting design creates an overall feeling of safety which allows the residents of the area to come out and enjoy the wall and the other recreational areas in the darkest hours of the day.

A great synergy

The poem should initially have been painted on the wall and being lit by several lighting spots situated on the ground. That approach was challenged when Ramboll Lighting entered the project, says lighting designer Vladan Paunovic Lighting from Ramboll Lighting.

- We wanted to create a lighting design that captivated the good energy in which the poem was created, and the previously lighting design didn’t express that energy.

From the very start Ramboll Lighting and Morten Søndergaard worked closely together on creating a lighting design that highlighted the poem in the best possible way.

- The overall process and collaboration with Ramboll Lighting have been amazing. They challenged me because they wanted the art piece to be as good as possible. We worked closely together on creating the right look, and I truly believe that we have achieved that. By looking at the finished ‘wall of dreams’ I wouldn’t have it any other way, concludes Morten Søndergaard.